He Carried the Sheep

So, my month in the Proverbs is over, and I am back to Luke 15.  Did I grow wiser this past month?  I don't know.  I certainly learned a lot of lessons though.  Mostly that I choose my actions, and my responses to life situations.  It is in those acts that I will find myself more or less wise in the coming weeks.  This morning as I was reading, I read a simple statement that I have often taken for granted.

Luke 15:5 says, "And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders."

This stuck out to me today because I am also reading a commentary on Luke 15 (Cultural Keys to Understanding Luke 15).  This book describes the state of the lost sheep.  When a sheep becomes lost it enters into a state of shock.  This state of shock is serious enough to kill the sheep if nothing is done quickly to find it.  There is an urgency in the text of Luke 15.  The shepherd knows that if he does not find the sheep soon, that sheep will die.  When he does eventually find the sheep, it is too stressed out to even walk.  So the shepherd has to carry it on his shoulders back to the rest of the flock.  A full grown sheep weighs any where from 50-70 pounds; and the shepherd needs to bear that burden if he wants the sheep to survive this ordeal.  That is what Christ does for us when we are lost.

How many times have I found myself alone.  Stressed out.  Not knowing what to do.  Not aware of the danger I am in.  How many times has Christ come to rescue me?  Countless.  Every time I wander away form the flock, Jesus searches until He finds me.  He puts my on his shoulders and carries me home. 

I am not sure of the application of this line of thinking for today.  I do know it makes me think a lot about my wandering...

What are your thoughts?

In His service, Crazy Pete